Broken With Beautiful You
by KDLFiction
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS! After the war is well subsided, Katniss still had the nightmares. The particularly haunting ones are with her sister, Prim. One night, she wakes from a dream, seeking the comfort of her strong tower. Short one-shot with Katniss and Peeta.


_**A/N: Hey guys! I know I said that I was going to post something for Halloween, but I couldn't hold back a few ideas, and this happened. So, here is what I think Peeta and Katniss would talk about one night after she had a nightmare about Prim.**_

**_SPOILERS! DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED "MOCKINGJAY" BY SUZANNE COLLINS_**

**_CHARACTERS AND BACKGROUND STORY BELONG TO MRS. COLLINS. CONTENT BELONGS TO ME!_**

I notched another arrow, fully prepared to end the source of this entire blasted war. I saw him, he was standing before me, his back to my front. Just one arrow, that's all I needed. But that seemed to easy.  
Getting here, I'd only have to take out a handful of PeaceKeepers, and this garden was particularly free of threats. Other than the rose and blood scented President Snow.  
I fought the bile rising in my throat at the repulsive stench, and straightened my spine. "Put your hands where I can see them," I hissed through clenched teeth.  
The man's broad shoulders shook with deep laughter as he slowly pivoted towards me. I gasped at what I saw.  
My little sister was curled in his arms, a knife at her throat. Her small frame shook with fear and anger, and her light eyes reflected that.  
"Now Katniss," Snow drawled with mock sweetness. "Put that arrow away. Wouldn't want to hurt our precious little Primrose, now, would we?"  
"There is no 'we'," I retorted, tightening my grip on my bow. "Shes my little sister, and you are just the piece of scum with your hands on her. Let her go, and maybe I'll spare your life."  
He chuckled darkly, "Insolent child. You can't hurt me! Even if you tried, I'd make sure you wouldn't make it out alive."  
I growled, "Let her go!"  
The tip of his blade slid across the skin of her neck, leaving a stream of blood in it's wake.  
"Get your dirty hands off her!" I shouted with every ounce of venom I could muster.  
He tightened his hold with the arm across her chest, easily squeezing the air out of her fragile lungs with a huff. "Try and make me."  
Then, I saw my opportunity; I'd done it to save Peeta before, surely I could do it again to save my sister. Snow's hand rested on her shoulder carelessly.  
I took a breath, and released the arrow. It flew through the air, and struck home…  
But it wasn't the President's hand…  
_ It was Prim._  
She couldn't even scream -the arrow was lodged in her neck. I screamed, my hands going slack on my weapon as it clattered to the floor, along with Prim's limp form. I stood, frozen, as President Snow disappeared behind a wall of rosebushes.  
My mind knew I should've chased after him, but my heart and body gravitated to my sister.  
I fell to my knees, and pulled her head gently onto my lap. Tears streamed down her sweet face. My heart contracted, remembering the last time I was in this position; with Rue, who reminded me so much if Prim, that I often had dreams about their places being switched.  
This wasn't a dream -I was sure of it, because the words she whispered to me went straight to my heart.  
"How could you?" Then the light left her eyes, and she went limp in my arms.

I woke with a gasp, sweat pooling over my chilled skin. My stomach heaved, and I moaned , rolling over and burying my face in the bulky figure next to me. Tears were streaming, and I choked back a sob.  
An arm raised, and settled on my hip, pulling me closer. A whisper of a kiss planted on my hairline. "It's alright. You're okay. I'm here, I've got you."  
I sighed a sob, knotting my fingers in my husband's night shirt.  
"What was it this time?"  
I looked up and met the blue eyes that I fell in love with twenty-two years ago. "It was Prim."  
Peeta tightened his arms around me, and I tucked my head into the crook of his neck. "Want to talk about it?"  
I sighed, "I killed her. Snow…" I shook my head, not wanting to go into detail, not knowing how to explain without doing so.  
"It didn't really happen. _He_ killed her, not you."  
"Exactly, and I did nothing to stop him."  
He pulled back to look me in the eye. "Stop thinking like that. You know the truth, and-" he shook his head, then rested his forehead against mine. "I love you. The kids love you. Your mom still loves you. You have all these people who love you, and almost no body who doesn't. The past is the past, today is what you should be thinking about."  
I was silent, reviewing his words. "You didn't say anything about Gale… do you think he hates me?"  
"What? No, no, of course not. He still loves you."  
"Does that bother you, still?"  
"Why would it bother me?"  
"Don't play stupid," I said nuzzling my nose against his neck. "You know what I mean."  
He sighed, "No it doesn't bother me. He's not here, so it doesn't bother me."  
I shut my eyes, breathing in his permanent scent of bread from working in the new District Twelve bakery in town. "Do you still have the dreams?"  
"Yes, I do," his lips grazed my cheek. "But then I wake up, and see that you're still here."  
"I don't dream about you… ever," I admitted.  
"Because you never lost me," he whispered into my hair.  
"I thought I did. When I couldn't find you in the arena, when we got out of the arena, when you ran into the force field…" I swallowed. "When you got hyjacked."  
He stiffened, pulling me closer into him. We still played 'Real or Not Real', occasionally when he doubted anything. Well, anything but my love for him. He never asked that anymore.  
"But I'm here now," he finally said. "And you're here; and May and Flynn."  
I smiled at the mention of our kids, "Yes, we are." I looked up at him again. "And nothing is going to change that."  
He sighed, closing his eyes as I kissed his cheeks. "Nothing." He cupped my cheek in his hand, his eyes flashing over my features. "You're so beautiful. I hope you know that."  
I smiled, "But I'm broken."  
"We both are," he added with a sigh.  
"I hope the kids don't have it as hard as we did."  
"They won't," he told me, reassuringly. "You made sure of that."  
I shook my head, "Peeta, I failed. I killed Coin, not Snow. I failed the simple mission that I was given to me. It resulted in-"  
"Katniss, listen to me," he locked eyes with me; they were smoldering. "You did what you thought was right, and you were. Coin didn't live up to your standards as a good president, so you…" At my scowl, he trailed off. "Love, there is nothing you could do. I'm not saying to let it go, I'm just saying you should stop beating yourself over it." he grabbed my hands in-between his. "Okay?"  
Slowly, I nodded, "Alright."  
He planted a soft kiss on the tip of my nose, "Good. Now try and go to sleep."  
I rolled over, pressing my back against his chest, resting my head on his arm. "I love you, Peeta. More than you will ever know," I murmured.  
His warm breath tickled my neck when he laughed, "Trust me, I know." His lips met mine over my shoulder. "I love you, too."


End file.
